11-Year-Old Oregon Girl Saves Autistic Brother from Raging Mobile Home Blaze

LINN COUNTY, Ore. — Responding to reports of a fire in a mobile home at a park on Airport Road, which indicated that a child was trapped inside the home at 3:42 p.m. on Monday, firefighters arrived to find everyone had been evacuated, but the home had been destroyed in the fire.

Reports indicate that when police and firefighters arrived, 11-year-old Rachael Volland had already rescued her 10-year-old brother, who is autistic and nonverbal, who had been trapped in the burning home before they arrived.

Rachael had been playing outside after her mother had just left for work, and her father was due home any moment.

Her brother was in his room, and when she smelled smoke, she asked a neighbor to break down the door before rushing inside and grabbing her brother.

Firefighters had extinguished the fire by 4:21 p.m., but the home had been destroyed. Sadly, their three-year-old dog Kelly had not got out of the home, and the family was left with only the clothes on their backs.

The cause and origin of the fire are under investigation.

The Albany FireFighter Community Assistance Fund assisted the family with temporary housing and food money; the Red Cross will assist shortly. Family friends set up a GoFundMe page to help them recover.